10-yr median earnings
$90,543
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Worcester, Massachusetts
College of the Holy Cross
College of the Holy Cross is a private nonprofit institution in Worcester, Massachusetts. Graduates earn a median of $90,543 ten years after enrollment at an average net price of $38,782/yr.
- $90,543
- 10-yr median earnings
- $38,782
- Avg net price / yr
- 17.6%
- Acceptance rate
- 88.4%
- 4-yr completion
The verdict
College of the Holy Cross pairs top-5% graduate earnings with a very selective admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 2%
- graduate earnings, US
- 17.6%
- acceptance rate
- 88.4%
- 4-yr completion
- +29%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Midsize
Carnegie: Bacc: A&S
College of the Holy Cross is a private nonprofit institution in Worcester, Massachusetts enrolling 3,106 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard's 2024-25 release. The acceptance rate is 17.6% with an average SAT of 1,353. Graduates earn a median of $90,543 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid data. The average net price after financial aid is $38,782. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.
Data updated July 2026
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for College of the Holy Cross
College of the Holy Cross operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Worcester, Massachusetts (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 3,106 students of which 3,234 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile's peer group and cost cohort are determined; College of the Holy Cross is categorized as "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus" under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Admissions and cost figures below come from the same annual IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and net-price calculation that every Title IV institution is legally required to submit to the federal government, so the same standardized methodology applies whether comparing a public flagship or a small private college. Net price nets grant and scholarship aid out of the published sticker price, the number financial-aid experts consider the honest comparison point - the table further down breaks that figure out by family income band rather than a single blended average, since what one family actually pays can look very different from what another family pays at the identical school.
The outcomes further down come from federal tax records the U.S. Treasury links to former students who received federal financial aid, not a self-reported alumni survey - an approach that removes response bias but also means graduates who never took federal aid are absent from the earnings figures. Completion and retention rates only count first-time, full-time degree-seeking students, so a school with a large transfer or part-time population can serve those students well without that showing up in these particular metrics. Reading the cost, completion, and earnings figures together, rather than any single one in isolation, is the approach the College Scorecard's own methodology recommends for judging return on investment.
College Value Score
C
College Value Score
56/100
College of the Holy Cross
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings A+
$90,543
10-year median graduate earnings
Net Price F
$38,782
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Graduation Rate N/A
N/A
6-year completion rate
Debt F
$27,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
88.9%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A+
94.8%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$38,782
After grants and scholarships
4-yr completion
88.4%
First-time, full-time bachelor's
4-year completion vs national average (40%) 88.4%
Higher is better
College ROI Quadrant - College of the Holy Cross vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by 4-year graduation rate. Top-left = best ROI; bottom-right = avoid.
How College of the Holy Cross ranks nationally
Where this school's graduate earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
College of the Holy Cross: graduate earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$90,543 Top 2% higher than 98% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · 2024
Quick Facts
3,106
Total enrollment
17.6%
Acceptance rate
1,353
SAT average
88.4%
4-yr graduation rate
$90,543
10-yr median earnings
94.8%
First-year retention
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 17.6% |
| SAT Average | 1,353 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 610 – 700 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 630 – 710 |
| ACT Average | 30 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 27 – 32 |
Share of applicants admitted
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $64,500 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $64,500 |
| Average Net Price | $38,782 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $14,343 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $16,179 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $12,682 |
| Over $110,000 | $56,284 |
14.8%
Pell Grant Rate
37.7%
Federal Loan Rate
$27,000
Median Debt
$286/mo
Monthly Payment
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
52.6%
Female
16.6%
First Generation
Outcomes
88.4%
4-Year Completion Rate
94.8%
Retention Rate
$69,984
Median Earnings (6yr)
$90,543
Median Earnings (10yr)
85.3%
Earning Over $25K
88.9%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at College of the Holy Cross by graduate earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Economics
Economics
$118,131 median earnings
- Accounting and Related Ser…
Accounting and Related Services
$114,088 median earnings
- Physics
Physics
$99,165 median earnings
- Mathematics
Mathematics
$96,927 median earnings
- Chemistry
Chemistry
$93,122 median earnings
- Biology, General
Biology, General
$92,914 median earnings
- Political Science and Gove…
Political Science and Government
$88,088 median earnings
- Romance Languages, Literat…
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
$76,301 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economics | Bachelor's | 128 | $118,131 | $27,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services | Bachelor's | 28 | $114,088 | $27,000 |
| Physics | Bachelor's | 17 | $99,165 | - |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's | 48 | $96,927 | $27,000 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's | 32 | $93,122 | $27,000 |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's | 50 | $92,914 | $27,000 |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's | 110 | $88,088 | $27,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's | 33 | $76,301 | $26,975 |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's | 26 | $74,842 | $27,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's | 57 | $74,214 | $27,000 |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's | 132 | $74,095 | $26,990 |
| History | Bachelor's | 65 | $72,423 | $27,000 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | Bachelor's | - | $72,290 | $27,000 |
| International/Globalization Studies | Bachelor's | 32 | $71,280 | $23,000 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's | 37 | $64,642 | $26,449 |
Guides & Resources
Is College Worth It?
Analyze the financial return of a degree
Debt vs. Earnings by Major
Which fields of study pay off fastest
Colleges With the Best ROI
Schools where graduates earn the most vs. cost
How to Compare Colleges
A data-driven framework for picking schools
Understanding Earnings Data
How College Scorecard measures outcomes
Community College vs. 4-Year
Compare costs, outcomes, and career paths
Related Colleges
Other private nonprofit institutions in Massachusetts
Boston University
Boston, MA
18,248 students Earn $83,238 11.1% admit
Northeastern University
Boston, MA
17,326 students Earn $92,538 5.2% admit
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
10,085 students Earn $103,937 16.4% admit
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
7,601 students Earn $101,817 3.6% admit
Berklee College of Music
Boston, MA
7,468 students Earn $33,647 43.5% admit
Tufts University
Medford, MA
7,061 students Earn $83,214 11.5% admit
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at College of the Holy Cross? ▼
College of the Holy Cross is a private nonprofit institution in Worcester, Massachusetts. The acceptance rate is 17.6%. The average SAT score is 1,353. Total enrollment is 3,106 students.
How much do College of the Holy Cross graduates earn? ▼
Graduates of College of the Holy Cross earn a median of $90,543 ten years after enrollment. Six years after enrollment, median earnings are $69,984.
How much does College of the Holy Cross cost? ▼
The average net price at College of the Holy Cross is $38,782. In-state tuition is $64,500 and out-of-state tuition is $64,500. Median student debt at graduation is $27,000.
What is the graduation rate at College of the Holy Cross? ▼
College of the Holy Cross has a 4-year completion rate of 88.4%. The first-year retention rate is 94.8%.
Is College of the Holy Cross worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at College of the Holy Cross is $27,000, while graduates earn a median of $90,543 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 30% of first-year post-graduation earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 88.9% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $286.
Sources & methodology
According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard's 2024-25 release, PlainCollege tracks 6,243 postsecondary institutions and 70,827 individual school-and-program earnings records nationwide.
Every figure on this page is read live from official U.S. federal datasets, as of the 2024-25 release. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - graduate earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
What this means for College of the Holy Cross
- College of the Holy Cross's graduates land in the 2nd percentile nationally for 10-year earnings among reporting colleges.
- The average net price after aid is $38,782 - compare it against schools with similar outcomes but a lower cost.Find similar schools that cost less
- See how this school compares to every other college in Massachusetts.Browse Massachusetts
This profile is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or admissions advice. Figures are historical averages and may not predict an individual student's outcome - confirm current details directly with the institution before making enrollment decisions.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Institution profiles are compiled directly from College Scorecard, IPEDS, and Treasury earnings-linkage data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024-25.